Comfort Sleeve

ABSTRACT

The invention consists of a piece of clothing, more specifically a comfort sleeve, that acts as a protective barrier against the undesirable effects related to the skin overheating due to the prolonged skin-to-skin contact between the skin of the arm of a person (caretaker) holding a baby. The comfort sleeve is worn by the caretaker on his/her bare arm. The comfort sleeve is completely independent of any other clothes that the caretaker might be wearing. Said comfort sleeve is mostly made of materials (textiles) and is manufactured by two preferred methods: either sewn from several pieces or knitted in one single piece. The comfort sleeve is mostly composed of the body of the sleeve, at least one integrated pocket, at least one pull tab and at least one anti-slip component.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the field of apparel and, more specifically, to a comfort sleeve configured to wrap the bare arm of the caretaker, thus creating a protective barrier, which prevents the skin from overheating due to a prolonged skin-to-skin contact when worn by a caretaker holding a baby.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that during the first months of a baby's life the baby is completely dependent on its caretakers. The parents, or any other person responsible for the baby (caretakers), must therefore take care of the baby on a full-time basis. This is why the baby is very often in the arms of the caretakers, whether to feed it, to comfort it, to rock it, to put it to sleep, or simply to hold it or carry it in their arms. However, as soon as the skin of the arm of the caretaker is bare and in direct contact with the skin of the baby (generally the skin of its head and neck), we have a skin-to-skin contact. If this contact is prolonged, skin overheat can occur, which may create discomfort for both the caretaker and the baby, by causing irritation, redness, intertrigo, itching, friction, wetness, and other undesirable effects.

These undesirable effects can quickly result in a significant discomfort and can thus become an important cause of nervousness for the caretaker, who is already very often solicited and tired from taking care of the young baby. In addition, this discomfort is just as disturbing for the baby itself. Babies suffering from skin overheating discomfort are prone to becoming irritated and irritable, and they tend to cry and fidget more frequently, which, in turn, also makes their parents more irritable.

There are a multitude of devices and methods to prevent skin overheating. However, none of these inventions has been successful in countering the problem of skin overheating due to a prolonged skin-to-skin contact that almost all parents experience with their babies. Most of the time, people will place a soil and supple object between the bare skin of their arms and the baby's skin, such as a blanket, a comfort blanket, a towel, a quilt, a scarf, a nursing sleeve, a sheet, a long-sleeved shirt, etc. Since none of these objects are specifically intended to be used to prevent the skin overheating due to skin-to-skin contact between the skin of the bare arm of the caretaker and the skin of said baby, they do not include most of the characteristics that the present invention proposes as an effective response to said skin overheating, easy to use, comfortable for both the caretaker and the baby, easy to maintain, ergonomic and which allows natural proximity between the caretaker and the baby. In addition, these various objects traditionally placed between the arm of the caretaker and the baby to prevent the skin from overheating or to add some comfort, tend to accumulate dampness, humidity, and heat, as well as to move, slip, fall, or even get wrapped around the baby's neck, the baby's head, or the arm of the caretaker. Therefore, these objects can quickly become a source of frustration and exasperation for the caretaker who must then replace the object several times, especially when the baby fidgets and/or cries because it is uncomfortable.

Currently, most of the methods used to prevent the skin overheating due to prolonged skin-to-skin contact are dangerous for the baby, since they can lead the caretaker to lose their patience with the baby who cries because it is uncomfortable; or they present a risk of suffocation if the caretaker lacks vigilance, gets drowsy, or falls asleep with the baby in their arms. The baby could therefore be dangerously shaken by said caretaker or suffocated by said soft and supple objects if they fall on the baby's face. To prevent the phenomenon of skin overheating between the caretaker's arms and the baby carried by said caretaker, we invented a comfort sleeve which can easily be put on by the caretaker with one hand only; which remains in place; which is hygienic and which is also comfortable, ergonomic, easy to use and to maintain and safe for the baby.

SUMMARY

The present invention consists of a garment that wraps the bare arm of the caretaker. This garment in the shape of a sleeve is characterized by its tubular, hollow and elongated shape, and is completely independent of any other clothing and/or undergarments and/or tracksuit that the caretaker might be wearing. The comfort sleeve acts as a protective barrier against skin overheating due to prolonged skin-to-skin contact between the skin of the arm of the caretaker holding a baby and the skin of said baby, which overheating can cause several adverse effects on the skin, such as discomfort, irritation, redness, intertrigo, itching, friction, wetness and others. Also, the ergonomics of the comfort sleeve gives to the caretaker more control on the baby since there both hands are free to pampers the baby. Unlike the various objects, for the most part soft and supple, which are usually used to prevent said skin overheating, such as a blanket, a comfort blanket, a cloth, a long-sleeved clothing, a pillow, etc., said comfort sleeve described here will prevent the common undesirable effects of said objects, such as accumulating heat and moisture (sweat) produced by the human body, slipping, falling, or getting wrapped around the baby's head or the arm of the baby's caretaker.

The comfort sleeve has two opening: an upper opening and a lower opening. The diameter of said upper opening is larger than said lower opening. The comfort sleeve may cover partially or completely the arm of the caretaker wearing said comfort sleeve, from the palm of the hand up to the shoulder of said arm.

The comfort sleeve held's in place by wrapping ergonomically the shape of the arm of the caretaker thanks to the elasticity of the material and the hems of the 2 openings of said comfort sleeve, without, however, compressing said arm.

The comfort sleeve includes at least one integrated pocket preferably placed on the upper side of the outside of said comfort sleeve, which allows to fold the comfort sleeve on itself and store it in said pocket to reduce the size of said comfort sleeve when transported. Said integrated pocket also allows preventing the contamination of the outer surface of the comfort sleeve from external contaminants, such as dust, dirt, particles of all kinds, etc. But said integrated pocket also allows storing small objects related to the baby or to the caretaker, such as a pacifier, a pacifier clip, a cellular phone, etc.

The caretaker can easily and intuitively put on the comfort sleeve on his bare arm and he/she can slip it on with only one hand using at least one pull tab placed on the upper side of the comfort sleeve, and at a maximum of 180 degrees to the seam covering ribbon.

The comfort sleeve is made essentially from soft and comfortable, lightweight, breathable and absorbent materials (textiles) that have the property to evacuate and/or trap the moisture and the heat generated by the skin of the caretaker's arm and the skin of the baby. The comfort sleeve is made preferably of bamboo, spandex and lyocell (with Seacell®) but also utilizes at least one of the textiles of the natural or manufactured cellulose-fibres textile group and artificial fibres, including woven fabrics, non-woven or knitted fabrics, microfiber, nylon, polyester, polyamides, polypropylene, modacrylic, olefin, acrylic, spandex, cotton, bamboo, modal, lyocell, cellulose, any combinations thereof.

The use of textiles with Oeko-Tex certification or other equivalent certifications is preferable since this certification guarantees a product free of contaminants, such as heavy metals, which is desirable since said textiles are in contact with the sensitive skin of babies.

In one preferred embodiment, said comfort sleeve is manufactured by sewing several pieces of material together, completely or partially, in order to obtain a tubular, hollow and elongated sleeve with an upper opening and a lower opening, including a peripheral edge on each of said openings.

In another preferred embodiment, said comfort sleeve is manufactured by knitting it in one piece, on a circular sock machine (CSM) or on any other machine providing the same result in order to obtain a tubular, hollow and elongated sleeve with an upper opening and a lower opening and possibly including a peripheral edge and a hem on each of said openings.

The present invention also confers the following advantages and objectives:

-   -   The comfort sleeve can be machine washable and/or dryable     -   The comfort sleeve can be worn by both men and women depending         on the size of said comfort sleeve chosen by the caretaker     -   The comfort sleeve can be worn by both adults and children,         depending on the size of said comfort sleeve chosen by the         caretaker.     -   The comfort sleeve can be worn on either or both left and/or         right arm

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which form a part of this specification,

FIG. 1 is an elevated front perspective of a baby's head resting on the preferred embodiment of the comfort sleeve worn by caretaker on his bare arm;

FIG. 2 is an elevated side perspective of the comfort sleeve worn by caretaker on his bare arm;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective of the comfort sleeve;

FIG. 3A is the same view as the FIG. 3 with an example of a small object related to the baby (pacifier draw with phantom lines) inserted in the integrated pocket of the comfort sleeve;

FIG. 4 is a back perspective of the comfort sleeve showing the seam covering ribbon;

FIG. 4A is a back perspective of another preferred embodiment of the comfort sleeve showing the body of the comfort sleeve knitted in one single piece;

FIG. 5 is a plan view from bottom to top showing the outer surface of the comfort sleeve;

FIG. 6 is a plan view from top to bottom showing the inner surface of the comfort sleeve;

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the comfort sleeve showing how to fold the comfort sleeve. The phantom lines indicate the initial position of the comfort sleeve;

FIG. 7A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 7 taken along lines 7A-7A showing the comfort sleeve inside of the pocket. The phantom line indicate the initial position of the external face of the integrated pocket when unfold. Once the external face of the pocket is turned over, the comfort sleeve gets trapped inside the pocket in order to be protected from external contaminants when transported;

FIG. 8 is a front perspective of the upper part of the comfort sleeve showing one embodiment of the pull tab fixed inside of the comfort sleeve;

FIG. 8A is a front perspective of the upper part of the comfort sleeve showing another preferred embodiment of the pull tab fixed outside of the comfort sleeve;

FIG. 9 is the same view as the FIG. 4 showing the stitches hidden by the seam covering ribbon. (The seam covering ribbon is peeled off only for the purpose of the illustration.);

FIG. 9A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 taken along lines 9AB-9AB showing the stretch-type seam and the seam covering ribbon just above being applied to cover the seam; and

FIG. 9B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 taken along lines 9AB-9AB showing the stretch-type seam covered by the seam covering ribbon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a comfort sleeve 100 generally made of extensible material (textiles), which is put on by the caretaker with one hand on his/her bare arm 1 to wrap ergonomically said arm 1 as generally represented in FIG. 2. The comfort sleeve 100 allows the evacuation and/or trapping of moisture and heat generated by the human body, therefore eliminating friction, wetness, intertrigo, itching, redness, irritation, discomfort, any combination thereof, caused by skin overheating due to prolonged skin-to-skin contact between the skin of the caretaker's arm 1 and the skin of a baby 2 (usually the neck and head skin) carried in a recumbent, semi-recumbent, or seated position on said arm 1.

The ergonomics of the comfort sleeve 100, gives to the caretaker a full range of motion and allows him/here to pamper the baby with both hands without any physical restrictions. Furthermore, the comfort sleeve preserves the natural proximity between the caretaker and the baby. The comfort sleeve have the advantage of being affordable, easy to use thanks to the pull tab, easy to maintain (machine washable and/or dryable), comfortable for both the caretaker and the baby, ergonomic and which allows natural proximity between the caretaker and the baby.

The comfort sleeve 100 is completely independent (not attached in any way) to the clothing 3, tracksuit, and/or underwear worn by the caretaker, and serves to replace any external objects, generally soft and supple, used to avoid skin-to-skin contact between a caretaker 1 and a baby 2 (generally represented in FIG. 1), such as a blanket, a comfort blanket, a towel, a quilt, a scarf, a nursing sleeve, a sheet, a long-sleeved shirt, etc.

The comfort sleeve 100 (FIG. 3/FIG. 4) is mostly composed of the body of the sleeve 10, the integrated pocket(s) 17, the upper and lower opening 11/13, the upper and lower hem 12/14, the pull tab(s) 20/21, the seam covering ribbon 30, the stretch-type seam 31, and the anti-slip component(s) 33.

The sleeve's body 10 is made in a tubular, hollow and elongated shape (when worn), of variable length and width, includes 2 openings 11/13 at each end of said comfort sleeve 100, is sewn, knitted in one piece single piece or thermally or chemically bonded, in order to wrap partially or completely the skin of the arm 1 of the caretaker (generally represented in FIG. 2) from the palm of his/her hand up to his/her shoulder.

The integrated pocket(s) 17 of variable length and width comprises a trapezoidal, square, or rectangular piece of material. The length of said piece of material goes up to 130 mm but preferably ⅕ of the total length of said comfort sleeve 100. The width of said piece of material is between ¼ and ¾ of the circumference of the upper opening 11 but preferably ½ of the circumference of said upper opening 11. Said piece of material is superimposed and fixed on the outer surface of said comfort sleeve 100 by sewing, knitting into said sleeve's body 10, or bonded thermally or chemically, on 3 of the 4 sides of said piece of material, so that the opening 16 of said integrated pocket 17 is preferably placed parallel to the upper opening 11 of said comfort sleeve 100 and preferably at the same height as the peripheral edge of the upper opening 11 of said comfort sleeve 100 in order to obtain a pocket opened to the top.

The comfort sleeve 100 is designed to be folded in two steps from a flat position (FIG. 7), and stored in said integrated pocket 17 as illustrated in FIG. 7A. Said integrated pocket 17 comprises an outer face 15 which once turned over, enfolds and protects said comfort sleeve 100 (FIG. 7A) from the possible contaminants, during its transportation and/or storage. Thus the surface of said comfort sleeve 100 that is in contact with the baby 2 will stay clean from contaminants (e.g. dirt, dust, particles of all kinds) since the integrated pocket 17 is protecting the outer surface of said comfort sleeve. Furthermore, once folded, the size of said comfort sleeve 100 is reduced in order to obtain a compact objet; which is practical during transportation and/or storage (FIG. 7A).

In some embodiment, the integrated pocket(s) 17 can be used to store small objects relating to said baby 2 (FIG. 3A) and/or said caretaker when said comfort sleeve 100 is worn by the caretaker, such as, for example, a pacifier 5, a pacifier clip, a bib, a cellular phone, etc. to free the hands of the caretaker who can thus have his/her hands free and a full control of said baby 2.

The caretaker can introduce his bare arm 1 into said sleeve's body 10 with a simple, easy, and intuitive movement using only one of his/her hand by using at least one pull tab 20. Said pull tab 20 of variable length and thickness is in the shape of a ribbon folded on itself in order to create a closed or open loop 21 in which the caretaker can insert a finger in order to put on said comfort sleeve and whose base 22 is sewn, knitted directly on said sleeve's body, or thermally or chemically bonded on the inside (FIG. 8) or outside side (FIG. 8A) of said sleeve's body 10, so that both ends 22 of said tab 20 are assembled together, side by side, or side by side with space between them (FIG. 8/FIG. 8A), thus placing said tab 20 at a maximum of 180 degrees to the seam covering ribbon 30 so that the upper part of said tab 20 is at most 100 mm from the peripheral edge of the upper opening 11 of said comfort sleeve 100.

The comfort sleeve 100 is made of material essentially composed of textiles that are elastic and soft to the touch, preferably a mix of bamboo, spandex and lyocell, and most of which can have thermoregulatory, antibacterial, and Seacell® anti-inflammatory characteristics as well as excellent properties of absorption and/or removal of heat and moisture generated by the human body; and contains at least one of the textiles of the natural or manufactured cellulose-fibres textile group, artificial fibres, including woven fabrics, non-woven or knitted fabrics, microfiber, nylon, polyester, polyamides, polypropylene, modacrylic, olefin, acrylic, spandex, cotton, bamboo, modal, lyocell, viscose, and combinations thereof.

The manufacturing methods of the present invention may differ according to the machinery of the manufacturers. In general, there are two preferred embodiment (FIG. 4/FIG. 4A).

The first preferable embodiment of the comfort sleeve 100 comprises a piece of material (the body of the sleeve 10) wherein the upper 11 and the lower opening 13 are made by folding on itself said piece of material so that two opposite sides of said piece of material are joined together and tied by a stretch-type seam 31 mostly parallel to said sleeve's body 10 axis that extends over the entire length of said sleeve's body 10 from at least said upper opening 11 to said lower opening 13, so that the edges 33 of said material gives on the outside (FIG. 9/FIG. 9A/FIG. 9B) of said sleeve's body 10. This embodiment allows to minimize the discomfort and the friction that a traditional internal seam may cause on the skin of the caretaker's arm 1 when said comfort sleeve 100 is worn (unlike most clothes whose seams are on the inside of the garment, except for a few rare cases in which the seam is placed outside, but only for aesthetic or fashion mode purposes and not for utility purposes). To prevent the stretch-type seam 31 coming into contact with the fragile skin of said baby 2, a soft and flexible elastic ribbon 30, whose elasticity is compatible with the elasticity of the selected material used to manufacture said sleeve's body 10, covers said stretch-type seam 31.

The second preferable embodiment of the sleeve's body 10 is to knit in one single piece the whole body of the sleeve 10 (FIG. 4A) so said sleeve's body 10 does not have any seam parallel to the sleeve's body 10 axis.

In some embodiment, the comfort sleeve 100 comprises an upper opening 11 and a lower opening 13, where the upper opening 11 is generally larger than the lower opening 13 because of the natural configuration of an adult arm. Said openings 11/13 comprise an upper hem 12 and a lower hem 14. Theses hems 12/14 are folded towards the inside or the outside of said comfort sleeve 100 over a length of 10 mm+/−9 mm. In order to keep the comfort sleeve 100 in place without any slippage on the caretaker's bare arm 1, at least the upper hem 12 comprises at least one, preferably breathable, anti-slip component 33 made of silicones, rubbers, any combinations thereof, or from any other material having properties which result in friction between the anti-slip components 33 and the caretaker's arm 1 skin, and which is located on the inner surface of the sleeve's body 10 preferably at the upper hem 12 but also at the lower hem 14 or both 12/14.

The comfort sleeve 100 and all of its different components comprising the body of the sleeve, the integrated pocket(s) 17, the pull tab(s) 20, the openings 11/13, the hems 12/14, and the anti-slip component 33 may all be variable in dimensions depending of the thickness and extensibility of the selected material and the patterns size used to manufacture the comfort sleeves 100 in order to fix best the different arm size of the caretakers. 

1- A comfort sleeve generally made of extensible material, which is put on with one hand by the caretaker on his/her bare arm to wrap ergonomically and stay in place on said arm and which is completely independent of any other clothes and/or underwear and/or tracksuits that the caretaker might be wearing, in order to evacuate and/or trap moisture and heat generated by the human body, thus eliminate friction, wetness, intertrigo, itching, redness, irritation, discomfort, any combination thereof caused by skin overheating due to prolonged skin-to-skin contact between the skin of the caretaker's arm and the skin of a baby carried in a recumbent, semi-recumbent, or seated position on said arm and that offers the advantages of being easy to use, easy to maintain, comfortable for both the caretaker and the baby, ergonomic and which allows natural proximity between the caretaker and the baby; said comfort sleeve comprising: the sleeve's body made in a tubular, hollow and elongated shape, of variable length and width, includes 2 openings at each end of said comfort sleeve which is sewn, knitted in one piece single piece or thermally or chemically bonded in order to wrap partially or completely the skin of the arm of the caretaker from the palm of his/her hand up to his/her shoulder; at least one integrated pocket of variable length and width comprising a trapezoidal, square, or rectangular piece of material whose length is ⅕ of the total said sleeve's body and whose width is ½ the circumference of the upper opening, superimposed and fixed on the outer side of said sleeve's body by sewing, knitting into said sleeve's body, or bonded thermally or chemically, on 3 of the 4 sides of said piece of material, so that the open side of said integrated pocket is placed mostly parallel to the upper opening of said sleeve's body and at most the same height as the peripheral edge of the upper opening of said sleeve's body in order to obtain a pocket opened from the top; at least one pull tab of variable length and thickness in the shape of a ribbon folded on itself in order to create a closed or open loop in which the caretaker can insert a finger in order to put on said comfort sleeve and whose base is sewn, knitted directly on said sleeve's body, or thermally or chemically bonded on the inside or outside of said sleeve's body, so that both ends of said ribbon are assembled together, side by side, or side by side with a space between them, thus placing said tab at a maximum of 180 degrees to the seam covering ribbon so that the upper part of said tab is at most 100 mm from the peripheral edge of the upper opening of said sleeve's body. 2- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 1, wherein the integrated pocket comprises an outer face which once turned over enfolds and protects said comfort sleeve from the possible contamination during transportation and in order to make the object smaller and easy to transport or store. 3- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 1, wherein the integrated pocket comprises an open side through which the caretaker can insert and store small objects related to said baby and/or caretaker when said comfort sleeve is worn by said caretaker in order to free his/her hands. 4- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 1 wherein said material is mainly composed of elastic and soft to the touch textiles, most of which can have thermoregulatory, antibacterial, and Seacell® anti-inflammatory characteristics as well as excellent properties of absorption and/or removal of heat and moisture generated by the human body; containing at least one of the textiles of the natural or manufactured cellulose-fibres textile group, artificial fibres, including woven fabrics, non-woven or knitted fabrics, microfiber, nylon, polyester, polyamides, polypropylene, modacrylic, olefin, acrylic, spandex, cotton, bamboo, modal, lyocell, viscose, and combinations thereof. 5- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 1 comprises a piece of material wherein the upper opening and the lower opening are made by folding on itself said piece of material so that two opposite sides of said piece of material are joined together and tie by a stretch-type seam mostly parallel to said comfort sleeve's axis that extends over the entire length of the sleeve's body from at least said upper opening to said lower opening, so that the edges of said piece of material gives on the outside of said sleeve's body. 6- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 5, wherein the stretch-type seam includes a soft and flexible ribbon, whose elasticity is compatible with the elasticity of the selected material used to manufacture said sleeve's body, that covers completely said seam and thus prevent said seam from coming into contact with the fragile skin of said baby. 7- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 1, wherein the sleeve's body is knitted in one single piece. 8- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 1, wherein the sleeve's body comprises an upper opening and a lower opening of variable diameter, where the upper opening is generally larger than the lower opening. 9- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 8, wherein the upper opening comprises an upper hem and wherein the lower opening comprises an lower hem where at least one of said hems are folded towards the inside or the outside of said comfort sleeve over a length of 10 mm+/−9 mm. 10- The comfort sleeve as described in claim 9, wherein at least one hem comprises at least one, preferably breathable, anti-slip component made of silicones, rubbers, any combinations thereof, or from any other material having properties which result in friction between the anti-slip components and the caretaker's skin, or and which is located on the inner surface of the comfort sleeve at the upper hem, the lower hem or both. 